THE WEEK THAT WAS##

Hook | ARY, Wednesdays 8.00pm

When his beloved younger brother Shaheer (Shehroz Sabzwari) is accidentally killed, wealthy politician Jaffar Elahi (Faysal Quraishi) takes revenge on Haya (Kinza Hashmi), the girl he holds responsible for Shaheer’s death. Jaffar forces Haya into his nikaah as a punishment so she cannot marry Zayan (Zain Baig), the man she really loves. But Haya turns the tables on Jaffar by turning up at his house and exposing their marriage to his suspicious, angry wife and mother.

Apart from this being an obvious rehash of author Shagufta Bhatti’s previous serial, Qaid, this show’s other weak points are the badly written characters and their often confusing motivations and actions. If the female lead had been allowed intelligence or agency, this could have given this depressingly cliched story some energy, but such innovations are strictly policed by content heads at every channel because only bholi larrkiyan (innocent young girls) get ratings. Even more disappointing is the waste of talented performers such as Faysal Quraishi, Saima Noor and Hina Dilpazeer, who are caged by the limits of script and repetitive dialogues.

Qalandar | Geo TV, Fri-Sat 8.00pm

Tabrez (Munib Butt) has two wives, the arrogant city girl Sumbul (Hiba Aziz) and Durre Adan (Komal Mir), a sweet, religious, orphan girl from a village. Tabrez’s ambition and his parents’ greed has blinded them and they cannot see past Sumbul’s wealth and status. Sumbul is so jealous that she plots against Durre and her unborn child. Durre’s only support is Tabrez’s older brother (Ali Abbas), who helps her through difficult times.

This story is full of cliches, stereotypes and the kind of zulm (injustice) that the masses usually love, but has still failed to make a strong impression on audiences. The bad guys in the shape of Hiba Aziz and her father, played by Ali Tahir, are inauthentic and two-dimensional to the point of comedy. Stranger still, the hero and heroine seem to have little connection while the “kind” attentions of the older brother seem obsessive and odd. This simple story has been dragged on for too many episodes, and might have had more impact if it were shorter.

Meri Shehzadi | Hum TV, Saturdays 8.00pm

This show should have been called ‘My Weeping Princess’ because, despite gaining political office and affirmation of her strength and talents without her husband, the heroine Dania (Urwa Hocane) continues to mope and revel in victim mode. The only bright light has been Dr Hassan (Farhan Saeed), whose entry has added some energy and excitement to this otherwise circular story of bholi larrki (innocent young girl) manipulated by a cunning saas (mother-in-law).

Shahana Begum (Atiqa Odho) is CM of a province, but still has time to spend gossiping and manipulating her weak-willed son Shehroz (Ali Rehman) and his two disappointed wives, Cam (Mishal Khan) and Dania. The unendingly naïve Dania is now being fed drugs and secretly recorded in a compromising way by Shahana’s agents, so she can take her children away.

This is another story that has lost its impact because it has been stretched beyond the limits of interest and because of the failure of the characters to connect either with any reality or the audience. Supposedly inspired by Princess Diana, Dania’s character is missing the charm, courage and determination to be free and happy.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Abdullahpur ka Devdas | Zee5, Coming soon

Good news for those who have access to Zee5, the Indian web portal is finally showing signs of releasing the Pakistani serials it had commissioned a few years ago. Final dubbing has begun on Abdullahpur ka Devdas, starring Bilal Abbas, Saira Khan and others. There are always high expectations of a script written by Umera Ahmed and this collaboration with writer Shehzad is no exception.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 5th, 2023